Question

[Nic]

Hi, does anything show up in blood work for someone who is gluten intolerant but does not have Celiac? If a child does not have the celiac gene is there any reason to do blood work on that child or just try the diet instead?

[ravenwoodglass]

I would get the blood test done and then try the diet. Unless you plan on doing the endoscopic biopsy, then the child would need to be on gluten until that was done and even if the results were negative you would want to do a good trial on the diet.

I am a big fan of dietary exclusion as a diagnostic tool. Without it I would be dead by now. Not an exaggeration. I do not show up in blood work and technically I do not have a US recognized celiac gene, (unless it was one of the 7 they recently acknowledged). I was however in the end stages by the time I was diagnosed and suffered for almost 40 years. Research into celiac is in it's infancy in many ways, especially in the US.

It is a good idea to also cut out dairy at first. It will speed healing, and kids usually heal pretty quick. Dairy can be added back in after the child is doing better and if he reacts you can drop it again. There are a number of gluten free milk alternatives, just don't go with Rice Dream. They say they are gluten-free but they are not.

Your doctor should be able to call in a slip for the blood test or let you just pick one up. Children under the age of 4 often have false negatives though. It takes time for the antibodies to build up to a level that blood testing can pick up. Of course damage is being done during that time.

I hope your little one is feeling better soon.

[Nic]

Actually we are waiting for the results of his endoscopy biopsy now. He had been having a lot of heart burn and the doctor wanted to scope for damage from acid reflux. While he was in there he went into the intestines and biopsied for celiac.

Nicole

[ravenwoodglass]

Actually we are waiting for the results of his endoscopy biopsy now. He had been having a lot of heart burn and the doctor wanted to scope for damage from acid reflux. While he was in there he went into the intestines and biopsied for celiac.

Nicole

Since he has already had the biopsy you can go ahead and start the diet. You need to do that regardless of the outcome of the biopsy because of the high number of false negatives. You may have the answer before you go in to review the results.